October, 2017

• 25 October

  Bernanke’s anxiety

  

  Ben Bernanke is worried — and perhaps we should be, too. As chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, it was Bernanke who, along with others, prevented the worst recession since World War II from becoming the Great Depression 2.0. Now he fears that, should another sharp recession occur, the Fed won’t be able to contain it. Traditionally, ...

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• 25 October

  What Trump accomplished in first nine months in office

  

  There’s a bit of a phony debate breaking out about Donald Trump’s accomplishments. On the one hand, the president himself is his usual bombastic and factually inaccurate self about what he’s done in office. In a series of tweets over the weekend, Trump claimed “perhaps no Administration has done more in its first 9 months than this Administration. Over 50 ...

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• 25 October

  Give Yellen another term

  

  President Donald Trump is weighing one of his most consequential appointments: Who should lead the Federal Reserve after current chair Janet Yellen’s term ends in February? The choice comes down to whether the president wants broad continuity in the way the Fed does its job — or a big change, and the accompanying uncertainty. The US economy has done well ...

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• 25 October

  The Brexit talks are running out of time

  In view of the deepening Brexit gloom ahead of the meeting, last week’s amicable European Union summit was moderately encouraging: At least the talks didn’t break down. Both sides ought to understand, however, that when they meet next time, moving to actual trade negotiations is essential. Instead of negotiating the shape of their future trade arrangements, Britain and the EU ...

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• 25 October

  Democratic presidents might have better luck

  

  I always laugh when I see stories asking how many jobs the president has created. This language is common in the news media, as well as in the boasts of certain presidents. To be fair, most people understand the phrase as a shorthand for how much employment growth there was during a president’s time on the job. But many people ...

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• 25 October

  Central banks require more accountability

  

  The appointment of Italy’s new central bank governor has turned into a depressing power struggle. But for all the elements that make this a uniquely Italian affair, it also raises broader questions about how a country should balance independence and accountability in the event of a possible central bank failure. Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister and leader of the ...

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• 25 October

  The harder Brexit gets, the more necessary it seems

  

  Nobody was surprised that the European Union’s leaders refused to move the Brexit talks forward at last week’s summit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk talked of progress and suggested there’d be more at the next gathering in December, but this speck of encouragement shouldn’t obscure the bigger picture. The process is moving too slowly, and ...

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• 25 October

  Indian state banks soar on record $32bn capital boost

  

  Bloomberg India’s state-run banks surged in Mumbai trading after the government pledged to inject an unprecedented 2.11 trillion rupees ($32 billion) of capital into the beleaguered lenders to revive credit growth. State Bank of India jumped as much as 25 percent, the biggest intraday gain in eight years. Punjab National Bank advanced as much as 40 percent. The Nifty PSU ...

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• 25 October

  Citigroup to recruit 20 bankers in Saudi Arabia

  

  Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. plans to hire about 20 bankers in Saudi Arabia and start operations by the end of the year after receiving an investment banking license for the kingdom in April. “The total number of people we want to have on the ground for the CMA license is up to 20 for our medium-term plans here,” James Forese, Citigroup’s ...

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• 25 October

  Blackstone to double assets to $800 billion in five years

  Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP could double its assets under management to $800 billion in five years, according to CEO Steve Schwarzman. “We have internal targets, plans, aspirations to basically double where we are which would take us to $800 billion,” Schwarzman said in Riyadh on Wednesday. When asked whether the New York-based asset manager could be a trillion dollar fund, ...

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